Extra work being put in at St. Thomas

HEATH HAMILTON

Published 7:00 pm, Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Image 1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1

Extra work being put in at St. Thomas

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

Instead of waking up around lunchtime and proceeding to lay on the couch all day while inhaling countless sodas, local youth athletes have been early risers trying to gain an extra edge by the time school starts.

St. Thomas has been helping by running their annual six-week strength and conditioning camp called STEAM (St. Thomas Eagles Achieve More) this summer. Scheduled Monday-Thursday from 7-9 a.m., the camp has been a tradition for the school.

“It’s been here since coach (Charlie) Burton, before that (John) Carrigan and when (Joe) McDonald was here winning all of those state championships,” said first-year athletic director and head football coach Kurt Page. Page ran similar camps during his time at high schools in Tennessee and Alabama before coming to St. Thomas.

“Nowadays, if you come into the season or school in better shape and physically fit, an individual will be able to have a more efficient practice in whatever sport they’re playing.”

The camp mainly gets the athletes in a “positive mindset” so that by the time practices do start, they feel confident. That in turn helps the program.

Page conducts a series of stretching, agility, quickness, conditioning and strength exercises. Splitting the upperclassmen and incoming freshman into two groups, he rotates each from doing activities outside on the field and inside in the weight room.

Outdoors, the athletes participate in activities such as the tire flip, where a large tire must be flipped over and over to reach a certain distance. One of the most popular activities is the three-on-one drill, where one person must try and run past three defenders coming from the opposite direction untouched. Thursdays are competition days, where the group is split into teams and do tug-of-war.

“Kids love to play, so I try to make it like a game for them,” said Page.

In the gym, the athletes rotate between stations doing bench presses, squats, military presses, power cleans and anything else that will leave their muscles feeling like Jello. The hardest part for senior running back Michael Sharp is the weight room.

However, Sharp enjoys the camp so much he’s done it all four years.

“I do it because I love playing football, and this is the best way to get in shape before the season without a doubt,” said Sharp, who also runs track. “Even if someone isn’t playing a sport, I’d recommend it because you feel better and have more energy during the day.”

Incoming freshman Sebi Domenesch plays basketball and lacrosse, and would probably rather be sleeping than working out this early on a summer morning. But after advice from his older brother who took part in the camp years ago, Domenesch said he was glad he’s getting a leg up. Besides, it gives him a chance to hang out with a lot of his friends and also meet any other incoming freshman.

“Doing wind sprints on the hill by the bayou was probably the hardest thing we’ve done, but overall I’m having a good time getting a little connected with the guys before school starts,” said Domenesch.